Aug 3, 2009 4:53 pm US/Pacific
Rare Garter Snake Found In Stockton
STOCKTON (AP) ―
Biologists are rejoicing after the recent discovery of a population of giant garter snakes, a federally threatened species many thought had vanished.
Biologist Eric Hansen of Sacramento discovered the snakes, which can grow up to 5-feet long and emit a fishy odor, in a wetland north of Stockton.
The snake has lost about 90 percent of its habitat in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, and Hansen received a federal grant to find out how many of 13 historic subpopulations of giant garter snakes are still around.
Hansen says he found six males and two females, including one that was pregnant. In all, his study found evidence that 11 of the 13 historic populations of these snakes still exists.
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